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Expert guide to the Bahamas

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Sandy Cay iguanas

Sandy Cay (also known as White Cay) is an uninhabited island at the southern tip of the Exuma chain. Easily accessible from Long Island, it's a beautiful sanctuary for critically endangered White Cay Rock Iguanas. When you arrive at Sandy Cay, the iguanas come crawling out of the native bush to greet you on the beach or along the rocky part of the shoreline. They are harmless and will run away if you step towards them too suddenly. The tradition of feeding iguanas is now being discouraged by the governing conservation body, The Bahamas National Trust, as it changes their behavioural norms. Not everyone adheres to this guideline, but I recommend you practice being a conservationist. Visit Sandy Cay as part of a full-day excursion on the water with the family or in a group. Local guide Omar Daley (001 242 357 1043) takes groups of up to eight people out for the day on his 30ft Scarab for B$1,000.

Address: White Cay, The Exumas
Prices: with Omar Daley, for a group of up to eight, full-day charter B$1000 (includes options for other stops as well as Sandy Cay)

Swimming pigs

Most pigs live out their days in muddy pig pens waiting in line for slaughter – but not the swimming pigs of The Bahamas. They enjoy a sacrosanct existence on the most pristine beaches in the archipelago, with no worry over butchers or knowledge of the grubby life. The pigs are pink and white, and brown and black speckled – in other words, they look like your average pig. But they live like your average island-owning millionaire. After going viral, the swimming pigs of The Bahamas have become a must see for visitors to the islands. You can visit them by boat in The Exumas, at Big Major Cay. Come bearing gifts of bread or cabbage, even beer, and they will swim out to greet you and feast on your spoils. Then meet them on the beach, where they sleep and tan. The most popular swimming pig tour is with Four C's Adventures, leaving from Barraterre, Great Exuma. If you are staying in Staniel Cay, it can work out cheaper to visit the pigs by renting or chartering a boat, as Big Major Cay is so close.

The swimming pigs of The Bahamas have become a must see for visitors to the islands

Address: Big Major Cay, The ExumasContact: 001 242 355 5077; exumawatertours.comPrices: Four C's Adventures full day tour: B$172; children 2-8 B$86 (includes transportation from George Town to dock in Barraterre)Opening times: tours with Four C's Adventures daily in high season, less frequently in low season (requires six persons minimum to confirm)

Kayaking in The Exumas

Kayaking is an adventurous way to island-hop through The Bahamas, and The Exumas is the best area in which to do it. The 365 islands and cays of The Exumas are strung together in a tight chain, with many less than half a mile apart, so land is always within reach, and the abundance of beach options, the clarity of the water and marine life encounters with turtles, stingrays and (if you're lucky) dolphins, make the journeys memorable. Out Island Explorers, the top outdoor adventure company in The Exumas, hires out excellently maintained single and double ocean kayaks. They have pre-set kayaking routes, available on an interactive map online. Some of these routes take you to cays with amenities, like the Little Farmer's Cay Yacht Club and Staniel Cay Yacht Club. However, you are free to map out your own course, stopping at untouched islands and cays or popular camping sites. Either way, it will likely be just you and nature for most of the journey. Arrange for a boat pick-up at the end of your trip so you have more time to explore.

Thunderball Grotto

Thunderball Grotto is an accessible underwater cave that sits in the middle of a little island (probably better categorised as a big rock) in The Exumas. It gets its name from the James Bond film Thunderball, which used the cave for underwater battle scenes. When you drop anchor, the entrance to the cave is not readily visible as most of it is underwater. Entering the cave is intimidating, but once you do, you can swim and breathe on the surface of the water as you snorkel around the hollowed-out inner chamber. Novice snorkellers can handle it, but the best time to go is low tide, on a calm day. Make sure you wear flippers. I only used one breath and about two strokes to dip beneath the ledge and enter from underwater. On sunny days, beams of light shower down from a circular sunroof and create dancing light shows above and below the water. The last time I visited I actually climbed the cliff and jumped in the cave from one of the holes in the roof. Large schools of fish and colourful coral take up residence inside and around the cave. You may see the occasional barracuda or shark saunter through the cave, unfazed by the human visitors. Four C's Adventures has a half-day tour from Great Exuma including Thunderball Grotto, while Captain Cliff offers half- and full-day charters from Staniel Cay including the grotto. Both excursions take in other attractions too.

Thunderball Grotto is an accessible underwater cave that sits in the middle of a little island

Atlantis Aquaventure and The Dig

Guests at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island have free access to Aquaventure and The Dig, a joined water park and marine habitat. With Discover Atlantis day passes available for non-hotel guests, anyone can enjoy this attraction for a fee. If you are travelling with children, Aquaventure is definitely worth the cost. There are 11 pools, including three wading pools for small children, lazy rivers and lots of water slides, including a six-storey vertical drop down a recreated Mayan Temple. The aerial views of the coastline and the wider Atlantis property from the top of the rides are breathtaking. If you hate standing in queues, the optimum time to visit is in the morning – avoid the afternoon. Water features with sharks and stingrays and other sea life are woven into the entire hotel, but inside The Dig you can walk through tunnels simulating the lost city of Atlantis and view lobster, lion fish, grouper, seahorses, jellyfish and moray eels. Visiting The Dig is best in the evening: there are fewer people then, and you can combine the experience with drinks at one of the hotel's bars or dinner at a restaurant (the upscale Japanese Nobu is always a winner). There is also a second aquarium known as The Predator Lagoon, which is an underground glass tunnel inside a marine habitat filled with sharks. On the rare occasion that Atlantis is completely booked out, the hotel limits the number of day passes available for day visitors.

It doesn’t get more idyllic than this remote all-inclusive private-island resort, where guests co...Read expert review

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Islandz Rum Tours

The Bahamas has a salacious history of rum running and piracy, which provides great material for booze-infused tours of the capital, Nassau. Islandz Tours, a company specialising in non-traditional walking tours, has two options: Bites on Booze Avenue and Bahama Brews. On these tours you will sample local beers and shots of premium rum, while learning scandalous details and historical titbits about the former Republic of Pirates. These are couth rum tours; you might get a little buzz, especially on an empty stomach, but you will not leave with a Spring Breaker’s high. One of the stops on Booze Avenue is John Watling’s Distillery, where Bahamian hands use English rum-making methods to create original infusions. John Watling’s has its own complimentary rum tour of their small batch distillery and estate house.

Bites of Nassau Food Tour

Bites of Nassau is the signature walking tour of Tru Bahamian Food Tours, a company dedicated to exposing the indigenous flavours of The Bahamas and the country’s multiculturalism. The tour has six stops that include savoury meals, island beverages, specialty teas and spices and desserts. It takes three hours, with each stop paced so you can learn a titbit from the guide, poke around at your own leisure and interact with the other guests (which comes naturally as there is no greater ice breaker than breaking bread).Before each tour the guide promises to make you moderately and pleasantly full, and when I took the tour it exceeded expectations in both respects. I overindulged on sweet treats, buying extra chocolate at the Chocolate Factory and negotiating myself an apple strudel and a spicy basil soup at Van Breugel’s Bistro and Bar. My favourite stops featured white chocolate key lime truffles and rum cake. Come on an empty stomach.

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Compass Cay nurse shark encounter

Nurse sharks are tame, docile creatures during the day. Compass Cay Marina provides the equivalent of a lounge bed for a resident school of the sharks – a slightly submerged dock where they stack up by the dozens to sunbathe. Petting and feeding them at the marina is safe, even for children, but will still give you a thrill. The experience requires no dive suit or PADI certification; all it takes is courage. For B$10, visitors can walk ankle or knee deep on the dock and pet the blue- and brown-speckled skin of the sharks and feel the sandpaper texture of their skin. For risk takers like me, I recommend going in for a swim (at your own risk).

Inagua bird-watching

Great Inagua, the most southerly island in The Bahamas, has the largest colony of West Indian Flamingos, the country's national bird. At its peak, estimates place the colony size at 80,000, though it is unlikely you will see flocks that big. Sightings are possible any time of year, but you'll see the birds congregate in their largest numbers during breeding season, from March to May. The flamingos live out their crimson days wading in brine, feeding themselves off the salt lakes, in particular Lake Rosa the largest salt-water lake in The Bahamas. The lake, and a large part of Inagua, falls under the Inagua National Park. Birding safaris will take you on a journey over and around the lake, which is sliced up by access roads for the salt mining company. Only guided tours are allowed inside the park. You can book a private tour through the park warden, who will guide you himself or connect you with another knowledgeable guide. The experience is enhanced with binoculars which can be supplied on request when you go on a tour. The guides know not just about flamingos but also Inagua's 140 plus species of native and migratory birds, which include the Bahama Parrot.

Address: Lake Rosa, Great Inagua, InaguaContact: 001 242 464 7618; bnt.bsPrices: around B$35 per person, but can varyOpening times: tours any time from 5/6am to sunset

Great Inagua, has the largest colony of West Indian Flamingos, the country's national bird

Clifton Heritage National Park

The significance of Clifton Heritage National Park comes from its history as a colonial plantation and seaport for the import of Africans to The Bahamas. Artist Antonius Roberts has carved a circle of African mothers from within the trunks of standing casuarina trees to create an art installation, Sacred Space, on this ancestral ground. For me, it is truly a sacred space, as I go there to drum, meditate and pour libation (an African ritual) to honour ancestors. In the park there is also a heritage trail with preserved ruins and stories of the Whylly Plantation, and a nature trail that passes through coppice forests and wetlands. The guided heritage tour is the best way to see all of the historical and cultural sites and hear about the stories that give the park significance. Visitors can also simply enjoy Jaws Beach or Johnstone Beach, both small but beautiful strands, and snorkel over the underwater sculpture garden and reef just offshore. Sunsets from the cliffs at Clifton are phenomenal, particularly when the sky is clear of clouds. Plan on spending an entire day touring and picnicing in the park, which is around 40 minutes' drive from the downtown Nassau tourist zone.

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Grand Bahama Island

Grand Bahama is often referred to as The Bahamas’ second city, but that is deceptive. In fact it is a large island (95 miles long) that is largely undeveloped. The major exception is Freeport, Grand Bahama's commercial and tourism hub – it's a major cruise ship port. Freeport is a modern planned city with large hotels and the Port Lucaya Marketplace, where you will find duty-free shops, restaurants and entertainment. Grand Bahama’s real charm lies in the two sleepy settlements on its peripheries, West End and East End. From Freeport, make the 45-minute drive to West End for an authentic lunch of fish and pancakes at a roadside restaurant, or drive for nearly two hours to East End, the most time-preserved part of Grand Bahama. The highway dead-ends in Mclean’s Town, beyond which the island is sliced into little cays, housing bountiful bone-fishing flats and untouched expanses of beach.

Cable Beach

Cable Beach is a highly developed tourist area with a strip of large hotels, restaurants, bars and beaches. Although not yet complete, the imposing Baha Mar – an ultra-luxurious casino hotel – is the main focus, and its surrounding area includes wetlands and a golf course. Other large hotels in the area include the Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island and Breezes Bahamas (both all-inclusive), and the Melia Nassau Beach, a Spanish hotel with trendy bars and restaurants. Each hotel has a slice of beach on the long, curved coastline. There are also public access points along the way, including at Goodman’s Bay Beach (see separate Beach recommendation). For eating and drinking, I recommend the Mediterranean-inspired Olives Meze Grill, Capriccio Ristorante and The Daiquiri Shack, a casual drinking spot by the Cable Beach Straw Market.

Cable Beach is a highly developed tourist area with a strip of large hotels, restaurants, bars and beaches

Address: West Bay Street, Nassau, New Povidence

Columbus Point

It is not easy to get to the Columbus Monument but it is definitely worth it. I am not fan of the genocidal Christopher Columbus, who wreaked havoc on the indigenous populations of the Caribbean. But the creators of this monument – a basic concrete obelisk crowned with a cross – chose a hillside in north Long Island with a spectacular view of the protected North End Creek and Newton Cay, so a visit is an absolute must. Before you visit, read online (archive.org/details/cihm_05312) how Columbus marvelled at the beauty of the surroundings in his journal (October 16, 1492 entry) – at the astonishing colour of the fish, the greenery of the forest and the beauty of the saltwater creek with its river-like entrance on Long Island, which he called Fernandina. Go at high tide to get here by boat. By car, you'll need a four-wheel drive, and then hike from the parking area up a steep but short hill.

Address: Off road, North Queens Highway, Long Island

Cat Island

Little development, very few tourists, endless beaches, a spattering of heritage sites and natural attractions, and a history filled with mysticism and music is what remote Cat Island has to offer travellers. Bennett’s Harbour Creek is a great place for turtle spotting: you can explore it by boat or kayak. A hike or paddle to Man-O-War Beach is also worth a try for a fun and challenging adventure with a picturesque reward. Cat Island's businesses pride themselves on creating a family atmosphere: you are bound to make acquaintance with the proprietors who run the restaurants and hotels. A great place to experience the island’s culture is Da Smoke Pot (001 242 354 2077) a laid-back restaurant where the owner Julian Russell will (by special request) switch hats and perform lead with his band. They play traditional Bahamian rake and scrape, a pulsating style of music that uses locally-made instruments.

Preachers Cave

Preacher’s Cave in the far north of Eleuthera is a historically significant sight. Around the mid 1700s, fleeing religious puritans known as The Eleutheran Adventurers were shipwrecked on a reef called the Devil’s Backbone and were washed ashore on beautiful Preacher’s Cave Beach, located opposite the cave’s entrance. In Eleuthera they found freedom from religious persecution, permanent shelter, and a place to conduct religious services. Inside Preacher’s Cave, the carved boulder they used as an altar still stands as a monument today. The cave has a mammoth entrance but only one main cavity to explore – its historic significance is its chief attraction. Bring your swim suit and combine a visit to the cave with a picnic and swim on Preacher’s Cave Beach, though note that on windy days the water gets rough.

Spider Cave

Spider Cave is hidden behind the well-known Rock Sound Boiling Hole. I would skip this mediocre blue hole and head off the beaten path to find the real attraction. To enter the Spider Cave, cut through the bushes to the left of Boiling Hole, and descend the ladder at the end of the path. You might not actually see spiders, as the eight-legged crawlers who reside inside are nocturnal. Nonetheless, evidence of spider existence is all around: the walls of the cave are completely draped in white, silky webs. Other attractions include bats and several cathedral-like chambers with large tree roots that cascade from rooftop openings down to the floor. There is no need for flashlights, as sky roofs illuminate the inner chambers. And it's not claustrophobic: you can walk around upright (unless you want to crawl through openings). Wear decent shoes, and bring bug spray for the mosquitoes, not the spiders. You can visit the cave independently or go on a guided tour with guide Lyle Braithwaite of Pineapple Tours (facebook.com/Pineapple-Tours-and-Cottages).

Address: Queens Highway, Rock Sound, Eleuthera

Dean’s Blue Hole

The deepest salt water sinkhole in the world is located in a half-moon shaped bay, west of Clarence Town on Long Island. Enclosed by aquamarine shallows, white-sand beaches and jagged cliffs topped with lush greenery, from above the water Dean’s Blue Hole is breathtaking. Below the surface is a seemingly bottomless abyss, and the marine life has mysterious habits like swimming upside down. Possible activities include snorkelling, cliff jumping (my favourite) and for the very adventurous free diving (deep diving on a single breath) – the world record for the deepest free dive was set at Dean’s Blue Hole. Bring whatever you need as there are no facilities. Consider employing a local guide such as Omar Daley (001 242 357 1043) if you need a companion to take the edge out of snorkelling and diving in the deep abyss. Note that occasionally the Atlantic-facing beach is littered with ocean debris.

Address: West of Clarence Town, Long Island

Dean's blue hole is the deepest salt water sinkhole in the world

Downtown Nassau

Downtown Nassau is the most heavily trafficked tourist area in the country thanks to the Nassau Cruise Port, which has over three million passengers breezing through every year. The top things to do downtown are shop, eat and sightsee. There is no shortage of souvenir shops and duty-free jewellery stores on Bay Street and Woodes Rodgers Walk and the streets in between, including Parliament Street, Charlotte Street, Frederick Street, George Street and Market Street. Some visitors find savings of over 30 per cent on top-of-the-line jewellery. In this tourist zone you will also find historic buildings like the House of Parliament and the Governor General’s residence; landmarks such as the Queen’s Staircase, with 66 steps hand-carved by enslaved Africans; and cultural hubs like the Educulture Junkanoo Museum, National Art Gallery, John Watlings Distillery and Graycliff Mansion. Also consider venturing to the western border of downtown to find Fish Fry, which is actually a collection of restaurants selling authentically Bahamian food. The artists' network Creative Nassau hosts a marketplace for handmade Bahamian art and craft in Pompey Square every second and last Wednesday of the month.

Port Lucaya Marketplace

Port Lucaya Marketplace is an open-air complex in Freeport with a maze of restaurants, bars and shops. You can buy souvenirs, duty-free jewellery and clothes, and Bahamian arts and crafts at the Port Lucaya Straw Market. If you're after a drink, I recommend Sparky’s (next to the Agave restaurant), especially when bartender Deli is on duty – he attends to you like he loves his job. In Count Basie Square, a harbourfront piazza, during high season (November to May) from Thursday to Saturday, weather permitting there is Junkanoo (a colourful street carnival parade) and drumming during the day, and live Bahamian, Calypso, Reggae and pop music at night.

Port Lucaya Marketplace is an open-air complex in Freeport with an array of restaurants, bars and shops

Bimini

Bimini claims to be the big-game fishing capital of The Bahamas. It is also the most reliable place in The Bahamas to see wild dolphins and sharks, particularly hammerheads. Its western-facing coast is washed by the Gulf Stream, a warm, deep water superhighway whose currents continually nourish nutrient-rich waters and carry an abundance of prize-winning big fish. The ocean conditions between April and July attract the widest variety, including tuna, permit and the Bahamian national fish, the blue marlin. The colder months between November and March are when wahoo thrive. Bonefish, grouper and snapper are present year round. Fishing charters are available at the Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina (see separate Stay recommendation) and independently with local guides for half-day and full-day trips. Deep-sea fishing is the most expensive, followed by reef fishing and bone fishing. As the closest part of The Bahamas to the United States, Bimini is a popular first call for yachts. It also attracts divers and snorkellers, thanks to a mix of wall, reef and shallow wreck sites. Bimini also has a more tranquil side, most notably praised by Bimini’s famous ambassadors, Martin Luther King Jr and Ernest Hemingway. Both of them found inspiration in the island’s natural habitats, writing seminal works from its peaceful shores. The two main islands, North Bimini and South Bimini, are linked by a five-minute ferry.

Bimini is the most reliable place in The Bahamas to see wild dolphins and sharks

Andros

Andros is the largest island in the Bahamian archipelago, but its landmass is actually sliced into several portions – North, Central and South Andros – separated by canals known as bites. The island is rough and rugged, with its main selling points ecotourism-style attractions: fly fishing, bird-watching, diving and hiking. Mangrove Cay, a quiet settlement in central Andros, is a fly-fishing jewel, and family-owned places to stay like the Mangrove Cay Club (mangrovecayclub.com) and Swain's Cay Lodge (swainscaylodge.com) are great bases for outdoor activities. Andros is also known for its culinary traditions starring the Bahamian land crab: Crab Fest, an annual event in the second week of June, pays tribute to this. Hunting for crabs in the dark of night is a lesser-known activity, but something you should try with a local guide. The Blue Holes National Park has several hiking trails through pine and coppice forests that lead to a set of natural swimming pools. Andros also has a refined side: see the Stay recommendation for Kamalame Cay.

Great Guana Bay

Some visitors to Great Guana Cay in The Abacos are extremely loyal to the island. On my last trip, on the ferry ride over I met a retired couple from the United States who were on their tenth visit. I could barely convince them to visit another island (we do have 700 of them). Great Guana Cay is accessible only by private boat or ferry from Marsh Harbour (where the Abaco International Airport is located). The island is only seven miles long. Its appeal lies in its stress-melting beachfront accommodation (particularly in the gated communities Orchid Bay and Bakers Bay Club), its fishing village character and its active nightlife. Two competing bars, Nipper’s Beach Bar and Grill and Grabbers Bed, Bar and Grill (see separate Drink recommendations), are famous for their frozen drinks and fun-loving patrons. In the centre of the island is the Settlement, where many second home owners have private homes and locals live and work, often as property managers and caretakers. The Settlement is organised around the harbourside main road, which overlooks the public dock and a private marina. Nearby there is the food store, two small churches and the main bars and restaurants. The Settlement’s narrow roads are easy to walk around and difficult to get lost on. Another enticement of Great Guana Cay is that golf carts are the main mode of transportation. You sometimes bump into celebrities and their children carting about. Day trips from Great Guana Cay to other islands in The Abacos are easy, with Elbow Cay, Green Turtle Cay and Lubbers Quarters nearby.

Great Guana Bay's appeal lies in its stress-melting beachfront accommodation, its fishing village character and its active nightlife

Long Island

This quiet, sparsely-populated island is aptly named: it is 80 miles in length and only four miles wide at its broadest point. Long Island is suited to those who love the water – whether boating, fishing or diving – and chilling on pristine beaches. Tourist activity is concentrated in the north, where the Stella Maris Airport provides easy access to nearby hotels and a marina, and around the capital Clarence Town, close to Dean’s Blue Hole, the island's most popular attraction (see separate Do recommendation). Christopher Columbus made landfall on Long Island during his first voyage, but the island’s history predates 1492. Evidence of pre-Columbian habitats – artefacts from indigenous Lucayans – have been found in the island’s caves, including Hamilton’s Cave, one of the largest in The Bahamas. Pre-book a tour of the cave with property owner Leonard Cartwright (001 242 472 1796) to uncover its mysteries.

Eleuthera

Eleuthera is a peaceful island with loveable communities where you detach and make your own enjoyment. It is a prime beach destination, with over 135 white- and pink-sand strands to explore. Ben Bay Beach, Gaulding Cay, French Leave Beach, Savannah Sound, Winding Bay (see separate Beach recommendation) and, best of them all, Lighthouse Beach (see separate Beach recommendation) are just a few to sink your toes into on this long, narrow island. If you plan to explore, which you should, getting around by taxi will be expensive, so rent a car. Natural attractions include cliffs, caves, mangroves, blue holes and Leon Levy Nature Preserve. Among the historical sites are the ruins on Cupid’s Cay of the first US Consulate in The Bahamas (built in 1789) and the Haynes Library. A cultural highlight is a visit to the farm of Lady Di, a renowned and delightful pineapple farmer in Gregory Town. Picturesque Governor’s Harbour is the best place to be based to have close access to restaurants and nightlife.

Eleuthera is a peaceful island with loveable communities where you detach and make your own enjoyment

Berry Islands

The Berry Islands are a cluster of 30 islands sitting on the edge of the Tongue of the Ocean, a deep ocean trench that drops from 70 feet to 6,000 feet. The islands are best experienced along the coast and out in the open water, so I recommend renting or chartering a boat when visiting. The local population – all 700 residents – mostly lives on Great Harbour Cay. Most of the other islands are inhabited only by seasonal residents, including millionaires who own beach homes and whole islands. If you are cruising to The Bahamas with Royal Caribbean or Norwegian Cruise Line, you are likely to stop in the Berry Islands at Little Stirrup Cay or Great Stirrup Cay, private hideaways for the cruise lines. Most people fly into Great Harbour Cay in the north or Chub Cay in the south. Visitors to Great Harbour Cay enjoy sunbathing and shelling on the seven-mile beach running from Shark Creek to Sugar Beach. For those heading to Chub Cay deep-sea fishing is a big attraction, with billfish abundant in the offshore waters.

Acklins Island and Crooked Island

You will find solitude and peace and quiet in abundance on remote Acklins Island and Crooked Island, both of which are inhabited by fewer than 500 people. Expect freedom from hagglers and crowds of tourists, white-sand beaches, great fishing and diving, a rich history that pre-dates Columbus and home-cooked Bahamian food – there is nothing high end about these islands. A popular pastime on the islands is going rambling in search of cascarilla trees. Various parts of the aromatic tree are used for traditional bush medicine and commercial export. Locals strip the bark and sell it on the European market for use as flavouring in Campari. Request a local guide through your hotel or guest house to experience a rambling adventure.

Harbour Island

On Harbour Island, great wealth and modest living co-exist. As you drive around the 3 1/2 mile long and 1/2 mile wide island on a golf cart (the main mode of transportation), you'll see local children swimming in the harbour, chickens roaming the streets, and workers breaking for a cold beer under the shade of big trees. You'll also come across many oceanfront mansions and luxurious estates tucked away amongst the wild bush that frames their driveways. People flock to Harbour Island because it has luxurious boutique hotels, a robust food scene with great restaurants, and The Bahamas’ most famous pink sand beach. The main settlement, Dunmore Town, is one of the oldest in The Bahamas. It has narrow streets with traditional Bahamian clapboard houses coloured in pastel, adorned with front porches and white picket fences.

Hope Town is a quaint boating village on one of the best protected harbours in The Bahamas

Hope Town

Hope Town is a quaint boating village on one of the best protected harbours in The Bahamas. I love the timelessness of the place: its narrow pedestrian streets, children’s park and spooky graveyard remain practically unchanged from my childhood, though these days it is also jam-packed with beautiful private homes and small boutique hotels. Hope Town is arguably best known for its trademark candy-striped lighthouse, one of the last manually-lit Kerosene oil lighthouses in operation in the world. The view from the top of the lighthouse, of Elbow Cay from the Atlantic Ocean to the Abaco Sea, is spectacular. Hope Town’s harbour, invariably filled with dozens of yachts and dinghies, is also a sight to see, particularly at sunset. Everything in Hope Town is within walking distance, but it helps to rent a golf cart to explore the beaches, restaurants and bars spread across the wider Elbow Cay.